On 16 May 2026, a march took place to commemorate the 78th anniversary of the ‘Nakba’ - the mass expulsion and displacement of more than 750,000 Palestinians in the wake of the establishment of state of Israel in 1948 and to protest the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
However, this year, far-right figure and convicted felon, Tommy Robinson organised his so-called ‘Unite the Kingdom March’ (UTK) to coincide with the march.
This prompted the pro-Palestine march to take on broader dimensions and also identify as a ‘Unite against Tommy Robinson and the Far Right’ event.
Circulating estimates put the turnout of the march at around 250,000 demonstrating widespread opposition to the Israel’s genocide along with showing defiance against the UTK march and the growing far-right presence.
Far from uniting the country, the UTK has continued continues to be a haven for Islamphobia. During the last UTK, Elon Musk said, via video call, said that “whether you choose violence or not, violence is coming to you. You either fight back or you die, that's the truth, I think.” This widely interpreted by many as a call for violence.
This UTK, one speaker called for the removal of Islam from “every place of authority”.
Below are some images of pro-Palestine/ anti-Tommy Robinson protesers.
Inevitably, there was a strong a police presence along with counter demonstrators.
While most of them remained seperated off by the police, a single man walked into crowd. While clearly provoking angry verbal responses, he was physically left alone until the police removed him.
The rest of the counter protesters and the police presence are depicted below.
These images show some reactions to the counter protesters.
Of significant note was the very visible Jewish presence at the protest. Personally, I think this should not be understated. In the wake of the attacks in Golders Green, there was a consistent narrative circulating that blamed the attacks on the pro-Palestine movement and protests.
While trying to wrongly frame these marches as hateful is nothing new, this time conversation seemed to be more prevalent and widespread. It went as far as mainstream outlets, such as LBC, hosting call in shows on whether the protests should be banned, ignoring the rights and implication a ban would have. Amidst the government’s continued proscription of Palestine Action and its continued arrest of peaceful protests, the media complicity should be seen as nothing short of chilling.
Throughout the march there was a range of expression at the protest. See the gallery below to see additional images depicting this diversity.
